


Something To Fight For

by seki



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: F/F, Final Fantasy VII Remake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:22:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23615179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seki/pseuds/seki
Summary: Aerith's never been good at friendship.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart
Comments: 22
Kudos: 244





	Something To Fight For

It's raining.

Aerith has a few reasons already to hate the absence of a metallic sky above, but rain is a new and unwelcome addition to them. Who knew rain could fall sideways? Or that it could be so loud?

They huddle into the feeble shelter of the SECTOR 5 doorway, the two girls, with Red XIII lounging sideways across the front. Cloud's slumped against the wall itself, apparently asleep. Barret's stomped off, looking for some kind of doorway in. Aerith doesn't hold out much hope; they have no keys, and the door they're using hasn't yielded to bullets or fists so it seems unlikely any others would.

Cloud says there's a town somewhere they can go to, one with an inn, though he clarified it was still a lot of miles away. It's called Kalm, and if the weather ever matches that name again they'll strike out northwards towards it.

Tifa's half-asleep, her head pillowed on Aerith's shoulder.

Some hair's fallen in her face, a chunk of it stuck on her upper lip, the rest fluttering outwards on every breath. Without thinking Aerith lifts a hand and tucks it back behind her ear.

Aerith's never really been good at female friends. Or friends at all, come to that. She can fake it, she thinks; she has people who look out for her, who seem fond of her, and that's nice. But she's never been sure she has friends like other people do, or is any good at friendship itself. She can see that one way into friendship--of a sort--is trading favours for favours, so she helps people and gets people to help her sometimes. Women you can just ask for help; with men you smile and act like they're handsome and they generally fall over themselves to help you. Cloud was a harder nut to crack, with that mercenary thing going on, but it turns out if you need his help hard enough he will give it to you without a fight or a fee, his heart deceptively soft.

Tifa's not deceptive, not really. She's smart, and fiercely independent for the most part, and she looks at Cloud with an expression that mixes affection and confusion. Aerith suspects it's the same one she wears when looking at Cloud, though for maybe different reasons.

But when she looks at Aerith, Aerith thinks she might want to be _friends_ , the sort she's never grasped before, the sort where you just talk and laugh together and don't ask for anything or ask for anything back. No gifts, no running errands, just… enjoying being around each other.

Maybe it's because Tifa is so pretty?

No, no, Aerith's not that stupid. Tifa's pretty, she is, and Aerith likes how girls look more than how boys look--almost as much as she likes how the feminine men of Wall Market look when they're annihilating gender boundaries--but the pretty isn't why she's so sweet on Tifa. Tifa's got this core of goodness, the one that makes her want the planet protected and means she worries about her friends.

And sometimes she looks at Aerith likes she wants to say something… more, something that makes Aerith's breath catch in the back of her throat in thrilled and terrified anticipation.

Tifa moves, again, turning in her sleep, and curls into Aerith's shoulder.

Aerith leans forward a little, peers out. Cloud's still sleeping, and Red's eye is firmly closed. Barret's not visible, but in this rain, it's not like visibility's great anyway.

It's fine. Nobody can see. And if they can? Enh, Aerith doesn't think she'll mind too much.

She puts her arm around Tifa, and tips her head sideways so it rests on Tifa's, and wonders if they'll have a room to themselves in Kalm. Aerith might wanna step up, be the one to say something, see if Tifa's got that little burning spark of _interest_ fluttering in her chest too.

Or does Aerith need to wait until after they stop Sephiroth? Saving the world means you get the girl, right? Does it have to be in that order? Can't they reverse it, give both of them a little more personal reason to fight?

She thinks about it, nods firmly to herself, and presses a tiny sideways kiss to the top of Tifa's head, here where nobody can see them. A promise to Tifa, and to herself.

Yeah. She'll be brave.

It's gotta be worth a shot.

**Author's Note:**

> I mean I was already theoretically all for Tifa/Aerith, but the remake has me going YES LIKE THAT.


End file.
